


Bodies in Transition

by freifraufischer



Series: Walking out of Darkness [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-10 02:43:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4374116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freifraufischer/pseuds/freifraufischer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Swan Queen. The beginning of Emma and Regina's relationship is interrupted by a crisis and a missing year and a war with a Wicked Witch. Will it survive separation, secrets, and coming face to face with the reality of the Evil Queen. Canon Divergent Season 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third story in a stories, the first is _Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear_ , and the second is _A Moment Deferred_. This story takes place roughly at the end of season 2 and season 3 but will not feature the Neverland plot. Emma and Regina's relationship is established but relatively early and fragile, Regina is at the beginning of her redemption path but far from complete.
> 
> This story contains the characters Killian Jones and Robin of Locksley as they are seen in OUAT, but not in their current romantic stories. They are written as true as possible to their characters

Henry wanted this. It was his mother's birthday and she had always asked him what he wanted to do for her and the week before he had dropped the bombshell at breakfast before school. He wanted to take Regina to dinner for her birthday. A family dinner. With Emma and him ... and his grandparents.

No matter what kind of uneasy truce had come about between Regina and Snow, there was nothing about a Charming-Mills family dinner that Regina was looking forward to. Particularly on her own birthday.

Henry ran into the diner before them, and Regina stood outside staring at the door.

"If your mother hugs me there might be murder."

"You always threaten murder and it never comes," Emma said with a grin squeezing her hand.

"Don't question my evil persona right before I have to eat dinner with your mother." Regina put a hand on her stomach. They'd been dating for close to two months. Longer if you counted the secret dating. Longer if you counted the intermittent threats of murder and angry sex. Emma liked to count the sex. Regina thought attempted murder should really be a start over point.

"It'll be fine," Emma said reassuringly.

And much to her surprise it was. Henry sat between his mothers and Snow managed to carry on a decent conversation about horses and how much she missed riding. Driving wasn't the same.

"Well you finally got the last of the paint off that car of yours..." Regina observed as she sipped her glass of wine and Emma gave her a sharp look, recognizing trouble. Regina's sweet smile confirmed it.

"Yes, for some reason that paint was strangely difficult to get off." Snow raised an eyebrow.

"It was perfectly ordinary spray paint." Regina shrugged, admitting to the dirty deed without being pushed, which somehow took most of the malice out of it.

Snow actually managed a smile, "Really Regina? You couldn't come up with something better than 'Tramp'? You have a dirtier mouth than that."

Henry raised an eyebrow, "Wait, mom, you spray painted grandma's car?"

"With the word tramp." Snow repeated looking right at her former stepmother.

"Well all the other words I could think of while I was standing there I didn't want you driving around town with and my son seeing."

And for some reason that admission from the former Evil Queen made everyone at the table laugh. Perhaps the first real laugh they'd shared as a family.

Even David, who shook his head and sipped his beer. "I tried everything to get that paint off. It took me almost a year."

"I said it was ordinary spray paint." Regina said with a smile.

Emma knew that smile though. "Was?"

"I might have passed by the car on the way out to and from your parents loft while Henry was staying there and you and Snow were traipsing around the ruins of the Enchanted Forest.

Emma raised an eyebrow and looked over at Snow, "Did you traipse? I don't remember traipsing."

"Traipsing is something you learn at princess lessons," Regina said.

Snow grinned, "I skipped out on a lot of mine."

"Spoiled brat," Regina said glumly.

David shifted uncomfortably in his seat before his wife smiled back, "More like holy terror."

"Your mother's child," Regina said with a ambiguous expression but a smile that reached her eyes and made Emma grin.

Henry stared at the exchange, not sure what to make of it before settling back on his mother, "Wait, you spray painted Mary Margaret's car? When?"

"When she was about to set her up for murder," David tried to sound light but clearly wasn't entirely comfortable with the ease in which Snow and Regina were bonding over

"Oh come on David, you have to laugh at Mayor Mills, terror of the town, lurking in the shadows with a can of spray paint. It's a long way from the terror of realms." Mary Margret squeezed his hand.

"I could go back to plotting your destruction but I think Emma and Henry would object."

Emma laughed, "I would."

Regina gave a disappointed look that had been intended to be sulking but for some reason that was when everyone at the table lost it. She wasn't sure when it had happened but dinner with the Charmings wasn't the torture she expected.

The bell on the door rang as someone entered the diner and Regina glanced over at the outsider, Greg Mendell who stopped for a moment and seemed to stare right at her. There was something familiar about him but she could not put her finger on it. "I thought our visitor was supposed to be out of town by now."

"Whale cleared him but he's incredibly hard to nudge on his way without appearing that we are hiding something," David said quietly.

"Aren't we hiding something?" Henry asked.

Emma leaned over and whispered, "Of course we are but we wouldn't be very good at hiding it if he knew we were hiding it, would we?"

"I see," he said confidentially.

"He's watching us," Regina commented.

"Well we did just go from laughing to whispering when he entered the room. That's not at all suspicious," Emma pointed out.

"There is something about him," Regina said quietly.

"So mom, you promised you were going to teach me how to jump tomorrow."

Henry, with the attention span of the eleven year old that he was had shifted the subject, and Regina smiled. "Of course my little prince."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jumping the next day had turned out to be more rail road ties on the ground rather than gates or fences like Henry imagined. Ever since he had seen his mother ride he had wanted to be able to do the same things and teaching him that you had to start small had never been one of Henry's strong suits.

Near the end of the riding lesson though she saw him again. Standing on a hillside, and somewhere n the back of her mind, Regina Mills mother's instinct told her that there was something very wrong about Greg Mendell.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina had finally gotten Emma to come with her to search Greg Mendell's room at the B&B. Mostly because she was certain if she tried to do it herself the lasagna lady and her wolf cub would call Emma anyway. "Regina, isn't this a little paranoid." Emma said as she picked the lock.

"A little paranoia is healthy when someone is watching our son," Regina said glancing down the hall. "Besides, you need to stop thinking like a small town sheriff and start thinking like ..."

"A Savior?" Emma said with a raised eyebrow. They had a fight over that word the week before. Regina had insisted that it meant nothing other than her parents unreasonable expectations on her. Emma, because she sometimes couldn't help but fight with Regina had argued to be difficult which of course had just made the fight worse.

"Can we not have an argument about your identity crisis while we're breaking into a room. If you can't get it open I can just use magic."

As if on cue the door opened and Emma gave her a smug smile. Until they both walked into the room. It was messy, with takeout containers on several surfaces and the bed unmade. "Ashley did say he kept the do not disturb sign out..."

Emma walked over to the dresser where taped to the mirror were a dozen drawings. Crayon. Pencil. Charcoal. All of the same face. The same face that was looking back at her over her own shoulder in the bits of the mirror not covered.

"That's..."

But Regina said nothing, instead beginning to open drawers and dump belongings out.

"What are you looking for?" Emma asked, but Regina wasn't in an answering mood. "How does he have drawings of you?"

Emma looked around the room again, pulling out some papers from under the takeout containers. "Isn't this a map of the mines?"

Regina didn't seem to register what she was saying for a moment and then managed to become even more violent in her searching. Finally Regina found what she was looking for. Greg Mendell's car keys. She held them up, "We have to find Owen."

"Whose Owen?" Emma asked even more confused.

"A little boy I hurt a very long time ago."

"Talk to me Regina."

"We don't have time for me to play twenty questions Emma. We have to move." Regina's hands fluttered and they were no longer in the Bed and Breakfast but in the library.

"Oh... hello..." Belle said surprised and a little nervous her eyes landing on Regina.

"Not now Bookworm," she moved over to the elevator opening the panel. "Has Greg Mendell been here?"

"He checked out some material on historic mining in the area a few days ago..."

The string of curse words that came from Regina's mouth surprised them both. "We have to find it before he does..."

"It?"

"The town's self destruct."

"Wait... WHAT?!" Emma asked.

"There is a magical trigger to destroy the town and ... everyone in it."

"Who would make something like that?" Emma asked incredulously.

Belle cleared her throat and Regina glanced over, "I wasn't exactly at the height of sanity when I killed my father and cast a Dark Curse to take away everyone's happiness okay."

"So this man Greg..."

"Owen." Regina corrected.

"Knows you how."

"I ... it doesn't matter," Regina waved her hand and the elevator descended.

"How would he find this trigger thing?" Emma asked. "It's going to do what... blow up the town?"

"Revert it to the state it was before Storybrooke was made. Killing everyone in it from the Enchanted Forest." Regina folded her arms, "Except Henry."

"Why except Henry?" Emma asked, feeling like everything was moving too fast. Because it was.

"He was born here... he's of this world not ours."

The elevator hit the bottom of the shaft and Regina went running towards the glass coffin while Emma looked around the cavern she was last in fighting a dragon. There was a giant pile of ash in the center. "That's ... the dragon I killed?"

"Not killed. You didn't kill Maleficent she's only mostly dead." Regina said distracted as she broke a pane of glass in the coffin and another string of curses came. "We have to find him before he sets it off."

"How?"

"Call your parents and get them to bring their blood hound."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took Ruby half an hour to find him, now a trail of the entire Charming family in tow. He was deep in the dust mines standing over the little black diamond with a pickax.

"Owen ... you don't have to do this."

Both Emma and David had their guns out leveled at him. "You can shoot me but I'll destroy this hell hole before I die."

Regina stepped forward a bit, "Owen, your problem is with me, not with this town. Talk to me."

"Do they even know what you did?" Owen asked, crazed anger in his eyes.

"I don't need anyone to tell me about Regina's darkness, or her goodness. I've seen both in a lifetime." Snow said from behind her.

"Your sudden confidence in me is not really what's needed right now, Snow."

"You're Snow Fucking White and that's the Evil Queen and you are trying to tell me she doesn't deserve to die?" Owen Flynn shouted and waved the pickax about.

"You are right, Owen. I do deserve to die."

"What the fuck are you doing Regina?" Emma said alarmed as Regina stepped closer towards the man.

He shook his head, "They don't know do they? They don't know that you are going to be the cause of all of their deaths."

Regina shook her head and looked into his eyes. "They don't need to die, I do."

"Mom, no!"

Regina whipped her head around, Henry must have snuck into the mine behind them. "Miss. Lucas would you please get my son out of here." And for a moment, just a moment, Ruby and Regina shared an understanding and Ruby did as she was asked, Henry kicking and screaming the entire time. Regina turned back to Owen. "You don't need their lives you need mine."

He smiled, the smile of a madman. "Your son. I remember I once told you that you'd make a great mom. What did that cost me?"

"Too much." She said quietly.

"Whose child did you steal? Whose dead parents does Henry belong to?"

"Henry is my son. I didn't steal him from anyone." Regina said firmly. "But I took something from you I had no right to and you can take my life in return.

She opened her hands and lowered herself to her knees, to allow him to deliver the killing blow with the pickax.

Snow shouted a protest, but Regina gave the Charmings a smile, "Ironic, that I should die by one of those annoying dwarf's axes. Maybe Disney didn't get it so wrong after all."

Emma was shaking her head, and Regina saw it. "No Emma. This... this is my fault. It's fitting that I should die so the town can be safe."

She looked up at Owen waiting for the death blow. The ax swung, though not into Regina's skull, into the diamond.

The earth shuck and the diamond sprung into the air glowing blue and ominous.

"You don't get to die a hero bitch."

Regina was in shock, and Emma crossed the distance between them and punched the laughing Greg Mendell.


	3. Chapter 3

"What is that diamond doing?" Emma asked as she and Snow followed Regina into her family's crypt. Snow stopped briefly looking into the room that held Cora Mill's body before following along. Regina was moving quickly. "Do you have something to stop it?"

"It's removing all the magic from the little bubble that is Storybrooke. And ... I have something that will... negate it." She said with a pause as she reached into a cubby hole and pulled out a small box.

"Regina you aren't actually talking to me. Look at me. What is it? What is that?"

From behind her Snow answered, "It's a curse scroll Emma. I've... I've seen them before when I would spy on Regina practicing her magic."

Regina glanced over at Snow, "You always were a nosey child."

"You were hiding things and I was curious." She responded without shame.

"It's not just a curse scroll, it's the curse scroll. The Dark Curse." She picked up the scroll from inside the box and light flashed from it and she was on the ground unconscious. While Snow and Emma desperately tried to wake her and the others came down the stairs into the main room of the vault at the noise Regina lay on the floor. In her mind memories flashed. Seeing Henry for the first time in the adoption agency. Getting to sleep for the first time in her arms. His first birthday cake which managed to end up covering a fifteen foot radius in the mansion kitchen. Of teaching him to ride a bike and wondering what he'd look like on a horse. Of the first time he called her the Evil Queen. And the time she told him she wanted to be better than the person she was.

She opened her eyes to look up at a crowd of concerned faces, "Emma..."

"Mom, are you alright?" Henry asked, a terrified look in his eyes.

"No... but that's not important. What's important is you will be," She smiled and touched his chin, trying to save a sense memory.

"Regina..." Emma said quietly. "What's the price? Magic always comes with a price. What is the price of stopping that diamond from... killing us all? That's what it will do isn't it?"

Regina nodded, putting her hand on her stomach. "Yes, everyone but Henry. He was born in this world so it won't affect him."

Regina walked out of the vault and up the stairs laying a hand on top of her father's coffin. This time Snow was the first to follow. "And destroying the Dark Curse scroll. It can stop it. What's the price Regina? What's our price?"

"It's mine," Regina said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"It's not our price, it's mine." She ran a hand over the plaque with her father's name, tracing the lines of the letter H. She glanced over at her gathered ... family? She guessed that was the best word for them now. "My price is that I have to give up the thing I love most. We will all return to the Enchanted Forest... except Henry. For the magic to work Henry will be left behind."

She looked at Emma. "And Emma will take him. Because she's the savior, destined to break the curse, and thus she can escape it."

Emma shook her head. "No. No I'll go back with all of you. We'll go back..."

Regina shook her head and grabbed hold of Emma's shaking hands. "No. Emma... this is the price. If I don't pay it all these people will die because of me and I ... I won't have that be the last thing my son sees of me."

Emma shook her head, "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

Snow smiled without joy and took her daughter in her arms while Henry hugged Regina. "Sometimes your happy ending isn't what you expect. Sometimes the road there leads through pain." She glanced at Regina and reached out and Snow took her former stepmother's hand. "I think I know a little about that kind of pain. Regina's right. You have to go."

Much of the town gathered at the line, Emma's yellow bug was packed, and Henry and Regina were saying their goodbyes as everyone tried to give them privacy, knowing how much this hurt them even if they didn't understand the little family that had formed between the Savior, the Queen, and their son.

Greg Mendell, his hands in cuffs stood watching with a smirk. Regina, once she'd said her goodbyes to her son turned to look at him. "Crazy evil bitch has to give up her perfect little life? Cry me a river."

"Mr. Mendell," Regina said, a bit of fire in her eyes, Snow came up to stand next to her, her arms folded, this time not to stop Regina but to show her support. "When I destroy the curse you will lose your memories relating to this town, and what happened in 1983. As it appears you've spent your entire life obsessing over it I do believe that constitutes most of your memories."

His smile faltered. "I wont forget what you did to my father."

"Oh, but you will. Not only that but you'll forget every day you obsessed over it, and me," she nodded and Neal and David grabbed him by the arms. "You are a murderer you bitch. You killed my father."

"I am. And I did. And I was wrong." She gave him a surprisingly sympathetic smile. "And if I was a merciful woman I'd give you false memories to fill what will be the swiss cheese of your brain." David and Neal placed Greg just on the Storybrooke side of the line. "But the sad thing is while I am sorry for what I did to you and your father 29 years ago... I'm still not a merciful woman."

With a strong hand planted on his chest she shoved him over the line leaving him sprawling on the ground unable to see the crowd. He raged and screamed but could do nothing. She clasped her hands and looked at the rest of them. "When the curse is destroyed he'll have to find his way to civilization. With almost no memories after he was ten... and wearing handcuffs. Sucks to be him."

With Mendell dealt with she turned to face Henry and the crowd tried to find another place to look rather than violating the privacy of this last exchange between a mother and her son. "Emma..." Regina called to her as she tore herself away from Henry.

"This isn't fair," Emma said, to sad to be angry. "I think I'm in love with you.... and you'll be ... back in that place."

Regina smiled at the fact that Emma's thoughts were for her, but shook her head. "I cast the curse as an escape. Even I should have known, in all my madness, that you never really get to escape yourself. But there is something I haven't told you."

"There's more?" Emma said with an almost resigned sigh.

Regina ignored that, and continued to explain. "When the curse is destroyed everything we have left in this world will disappear. Even your memories of us."

"But Henry... he's lived here all his life."

"Yes, that's why I need to give you ..." She laughed a little bitterly, "That's why I need to give you what I gave everyone else in this town. False memories." She beckoned Henry over. "Of a good life, with Henry, of having never given him up. Of having been his mother all along. Of a good happy life."

"But it won't be real."

"No. But your future can be. When you pass over that town line you'll have the life you always wanted."

"No..." Emma shook her head. "The life I want now is with you."

Regina gave her a sad smile. She hugged Henry one last time and sent him to Emma's car.

"Emma... I want you to know something. Before you forget it." Regina cupped her cheeks with her gloved hands. "I love you."

The kiss that followed was deep and undeniably sexual, each woman trying to take everything in about it before it was lost forever. The others in the crowd looked away respectfully. When it finally broke Regina leaned her forehead against Emma's. "You have to go."

"I know," Emma answered quietly, finally disentangling herself from her girlfriend of officially only a few weeks. The last thing Emma saw before she drove over the line was Regina tearing up the scroll and the magic flowing from her hands to bring them all back home.

And then she forgot.

One year passed, and Emma was making breakfast for Henry before school. There was a knock on the door and when she answered it she was stunned. Standing there was Neal. "Emma, they're back, your family... they need your help. Regina needs your help."

It took her a moment to gain her composure before she punched him and slammed the door without saying a word.

"What was that Mom?"

"Nothing. Just someone with the wrong apartment." Emma clenched and unclenched her fist before going back to cooking.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been the pictures that had changed her mind. Not just pictures of Henry taken from a distance in a creepy attempt at being a stalker, but rather a camera that Neal gave her and the roll of film inside. It took her a while to find a place in the city that still developed actual film but the pictures were of Henry, and her, and a beautiful dark haired woman with sad eyes in some place called Storybrooke, Maine. And it was something about the casual way the woman had her arm around Emma, about the way Emma leaned into her that she needed to know who she was. What these pictures were.

And all Neal had to offer was a small bottle.

"It doesn't say drink me. I'm not going to grow into a fifty foot woman..."

Neal shrugged, "You aren't Alice and you're not from Wonderland. Or a 1950s scifi movie. But nice reference."

The memories flooded back quickly, and she needed an entirely different kind of drink, and after her confrontation with Walsh on the rooftop she needed more than a drink. But Henry would be back from the babysitter soon and she had to figure out how to explain things.

"He doesn't remember, do you have more potion."

"Honestly Emma, I don't even know how I got that. Or where I've been for the last year. But Killian Jones at least has warm feelings for me and he brought me here to find you." Neal scratched the back of his head. "The entire town is back as if we never left..."

"You did. I've been here for a year. I remember..." She paused, "At least I'm sure of it, the rest of my life is..." she waved her hand a little, "kind of fuzzy right now."

"Regina's magic would do a number on you."

"How am I going to bring Henry back there without his memories of his mother..."

"I think I may have some idea of the kind of pain that she's in store for. I take it he doesn't know who I am?"

"He knows his father abandoned me pregnant in jail."

Neal inhaled, "I'll have to thank Regina for not writing me a better story."

"It's not untrue." Emma said.

"I know. But she was making up some a new narrative." He shrugged, "Can we not tell him who I am for now. I'd rather be your friend than his deadbeat dead."

Emma nodded, but gave him a hug. "Whatever happens, I am glad to have you back. We'll go up there tomorrow and figure out what's going on."

She gave him a chased kiss on the cheek and waited for Henry to get home. Thoughts of the creature she almost married, and the picture of the woman she was in love with and forgot in her hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the three of them drove back into town in the bug, the irony not lost on Emma and Neal at least even if unstated for Henry's benefit. She drove by the big white house on Mifflin Street and saw the light on in the living room, it was late and she knew Regina was probably watching some terrible movie on late night television as she did when she couldn't sleep. Sharktapus probably. She wanted to stop the car and ring the doorbell, but Henry's memories were still a question and showing up without warning wouldn't be a gift.

So she asked Neal to watch Henry as she went to check on her parents.

"Hi I'm ..."

"...Emma." And she was in the warm embrace of her father and curse or no curse she remembered that this was home.

"You remember?" She questioned.

"No, nothing, we just know ... some things happened."

"It could have been a quark of Regina's magic," Emma supplied until she saw Mary Margaret coming down the stairs slower, unsurprisingly when she saw her condition.

"I rather doubt Regina has anything to do with this..."

Her heavily pregnant mother gave her a hug. "We don't know what happened and there are people missing... including Rumplestiltskin."

Emma felt a pang of guilt. "Neal is with me but I don't think he knows." She bit her lip, "You don't think Regina... she would do anything to get back to Henry."

Mary Margaret shook her head, "She seems just as a confused as the rest of us. But you brought Henry back and I'm sure she'll..."

"Henry doesn't remember her. Or any of you."

"Oh." Snow said with dawning realization. "Maybe you should call..."

"It's late, I'm sure she's sleeping," an easy lie. The truth was she wasn't sure if she was ready to see Regina. Their last words to each other carried something a lot scarier than a curse. The three scariest words in the English language. _I love you_. And Emma wasn't at all sure she was ready to face the implications of that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Both Robin of Locksley and Killian Jones are introduced in this chapter, but not in their canon romantic storylines, however every effort has been made to write them in character. Hook Queen is implied in the past.

"I'm sorry I didn't meant to frighten you..." Emma heard Regina's voice for the first time in a year over her shoulder. Henry was staring at his mother with a look of confusion and lack of recognition but also familiarity that was heart breaking enough without turning around to see what she knew had to be heart break on the mayor's face. The mayor? Was she calling her that again in her head to try and make this hurt less. Regina. The look of heart break on Regina's face.

Emma didn't turn around and her mother gave her a look before getting up... uneasily from her chair and pulling Emma up by her hand. "Regina we need to talk..."

Regina caught sight of Emma and there was something of a mix of confusion and hurt in her eyes. Once they were in the hall. "He... he looked right through me."

"He doesn't remember you." Emma said quietly. "Or any of this. Neal had a potion to help me remember but there wasn't enough for Henry."

Regina tilted her head to the side, "You remember... how long have you been in town?"

"Yesterday..." Snow answered. Emma inwardly cursed. She would have said last night. Or even this morning. Anything to avoid the raised eyebrow her ... girlfriend? Did they still qualify as that? She wanted to hug her, to hold her, to run the hell away and never look back.

The forgotten and then remembered 'I love you' at the town line on repeat in her head.

"You don't have anything to do with..."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret looked at her sharply.

But Regina shook her head, "I cast curses to hurt other people. Why would I put myself through this kind of torture. Henry doesn't remember me. You..."

"I had to ask," Emma replied quickly but the look on Regina's face really was all she needed to know that she was telling the truth. Regina was a terrible liar. "Someone cast this new curse and I suspect we better figure that out soon."

"How are you going to do that? Use your super power?" Regina was now giving Emma a cold stare.

"I'll figure something out." She was save by her father, playing actual prince charming for once, when her cell phone started ringing. Though she regretted answering it almost immediately, "Wait... Robin Hood... and Captain Hook... and missing people? What Mr. Smee and Friar Tuck?"

There was a pause as she listened and as Snow and Regina exchanged looks, Emma put her hand over the phone for a moment. "Okay, apparently Mr. Smee and Friar Tuck are just fine. It's Little John and some random pirates. They weren't in town before were they?"

Snow and Regina slowly shook their heads in mild confusion that made Emma thankful that she wasn't the only one.

"I'll be right there." She said into the phone. "Mom, can you maybe get the town together? Figure out who is new and you know... see if anyone remembers the last year?"

"You think whoever cursed us is just going to raise their hands and make themselves obvious?" Regina asked.

"You did." Emma said as she left, glad to depart before the annoyance in Regina's eyes graduated to something very different.

"Emma... wait." Regina said as she was walking away, "Careful of Hook. He fancies himself dashing and can get a little handsy. Or Hooksy... or ... never mind."

"You know Captain Hook?" Emma asked surprised.

"Well... he's ... maybe saying he fancies himself dashing was a bit unfair. And I was evil at the time so it doesn't count."

This time both Emma and Snow looked at her with raised eyebrows, but Emma shook her head. "I need to go investigate missing outlaws."

After what could only be described as Emma's strangest encounter since killing a dragon and having sex with the Evil Queen, Emma had been briefed by Robin Hood on the status of his missing Merry Men. One taken by some sort of flying beast . She left David and the testosterone brigade to go chase it and drove back into town to talk to everyone at the town meeting.

Regina had been right of course. There was something remarkable about watching how fast the town pointed fingers at her. Even if she was a logical suspect. What Emma didn't quite expect was the severity of the earth quake or finding herself spinning across the room and sliding into a wall before Regina disappeared.

Several people ran running to her after Regina had disappeared in purple smoke, and as Emma held her head she heard a British woman say, "You took a hard knock to the head, I'm a midwife, let me help."

Emma blinked at the red head, "Did Mary Poppins come to town?"

The woman blinked and shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't know who that is. My name is Zelena. That witch really tossed you about though maybe you should sit for a bit. Some tea perhaps? One of the munchkins can get it..." a dwarf grumbled in the background, "Try not to stand up to fast."

...

It took Emma longer than expected to disentangle herself from the mass of worried residence and the very insistent and weirdly aggressive midwife, but Emma made it over to the mayor's office. "An earthquake, really?"

"I had to be convincing." Regina had already set up what Emma privately thought of as her fisher price chemistry set. "Do you think they bought it?"

"A chance to blame the Evil Queen? Sure."

"Well we weren't exactly on bad terms when we left last year." Regina raised an eyebrow.

"True but I think a lot of people are more comfortable with the idea of us fighting than fucking." Emma said as she sat down, always a little fascinated to watch Regina work magic.

"Eloquent as always."

"Like you don't have a potty mouth, Your Majesty." She reached back to touch a sore spot where she was sure there would be a bruise. "You didn't have to toss me about."

"Well you didn't have to make me stumble on Henry without any warning."

"Sorry about that... I ... didn't know how to tell you."

"Avoiding things is another way of running away you know." Regina pointed out.

Emma nodded but said nothing to that. Instead just watching her, "You look beautiful. Whatever you did you over the year you grew your hair out."

Regina smiled, "And you didn't lose that terrible leather jacket."

"You love this jacket."

"I also love fire but that doesn't mean it goes with everything."

Emma gave her a look, and knew there were a thousand things she should tell Regina about the last year. Or rather one thing that would lead to a thousand questions. But now didn't seem the time. Especially after the attempt to replicate the potion failed and they had to move from plan B to plan C and set a sting for their mystery villain.

Which inevitably lead to even more time with Regina with nothing to do but talk and watch the town hall for signs of an intruder. Which was the last thing Emma really wanted to do right now.

"Does he have friends?"

"Who?" Emma asked but immediately realized and felt stupid. "Henry? He has lot of friends. It's almost why I didn't come back."

"I'd like to think ..." Regina started to say what Emma knew was going to lead to the entire awkward subject of where they left off but she thanked her lucky stars that a mysterious figure appeared to save her from an awkward personal conversation. Emma tried not to think about the fact that she was just privately glad for the appearance of a villain.

She resisted the urge to whistle the music to Scooby Doo as she and Regina snuck into the building to see what they'd caught in the blood magic trap Regina had laid only to have whoever it was slip through their fingers again.

"I thought you said they couldn't do that..."

"No one should be able to do that..." Regina said alarmed. As they stood dumbfounded in the mayor's office David arrived with a man dressed in green and another in leather. "Hello Hook." Regina said coldly and Emma remembered again the news from this afternoon.

"Ello love. It's been a long time... and you are dressed with entirely too little cleavage for your style."

"In this world I'll leave the evil cleavage up to you, Killian."

They stopped talking when Regina realized everyone in the group was staring at the two of them. "It was a long time ago."

"Long time is relative at my age, Regina." Which was rewarded with a roll of her eyes and a raised eyebrow from the man who was obviously Robin Hood if the monochromatic clothing was suggestive.

"My daughter Emma, Regina the mayor, Robin Hood, Captain Hook..." David tried to bring things back to the issue at hand. "We just came back from the hospital. We found Little John but he ..."

Regina looked at him dead pan, "Let me guess he turned into a flying monkey."

Robin Hood gave the former Evil Queen a suspicious look, "That is mighty a specific guess, Your Majesty."

"Emma and I just encountered someone who disappeared in green smoke. It seemed like a good guess." Regina answered, "Thank you for keeping up. I always wanted a social justice warrior in my life."

"Wait... flying... monkey? I kind of almost married a flying monkey in New York." That revelation struck everyone in the group silent and Emma looked between them, "He didn't look like a flying monkey when we were dating."

The pirate held up his hand, "I'm not one to judge."

Emma know she was in trouble when Regina didn't have a witty reply. She was just staring at her. So Emma did what she had been doing all day, focus on the evil conspiracy rather than her messy love life. "Wait... green smoke and flying monkeys... you aren't suggesting?"

"The Wicked Witch of the West." Regina said dramatically.

"She's real too?"

"Aren't you the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Captain Hook asked sarcastically.

Regina looked over at him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Emma remembered something from the whirl wind of the previous day, "He brought Neal to New York so I could come back here."

"Killian's Savior Delivery Service." He gave a mock salute.

"Just because I'm on the mend doesn't mean I still can't take our tongue out, pirate." Regina gave Emma a long stare which told her that the conversation about Walsh wasn't over. It hadn't even started yet.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. To sleep an hope this was all a very weird dream."

Emma went to follow but her father held her back, "I think... you better let her be tonight.

Emma pressed her lips together and knew he was right.

She'd have to face the royal temper tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma Swan stopped at the wrought iron gates in front of the big white house on Mifflin Street, taking a deep breath before she walked up the front path to the porch. She wanted to run. To avoid this conversation. But her mother had sat her down the night before and told her she couldn't keep doing that to Regina and Emma had to admit she was right. Though when her mother became Regina Mills' protector she wasn't sure.

When she used the heavy brass knocker she heard the footsteps of heels on the wooden floor and was unsurprised to see Regina not only awake but dressed with makeup on.

"Hi."

Regina gave her a raised eyebrow but walked back into the house clearly expecting Emma to follow. "Where is my son? There is a Wicked Witch loose in town and I'd prefer he isn't unguarded."

"Neal and his friend Killian took him out sailing on Leroy's boat." Emma said as she followed Regina into her kitchen. There was a french press with coffee in it which drew Emma's attention. A year in New York had gotten her to appreciate the value of Regina's taste in coffee over the stuff served at Granny's.

Regina rolled her eyes but said nothing as she got a mug down and handed Emma a cup. "You know where the milk and sugar are. I'd really appreciate if you kept an eye on how much time Henry spends with the pirate. I know I don't get to police who he is with right now but I'd really rather he not spend his time learning how to cheat at dice and seduce women."

"Henry is twelve. And besides I'm not sure you really get to comment on the other," Emma raised an eyebrow. "You could have told me you had sex with Captain Hook."

"I used protection, don't worry you weren't exposed to scurvy."

"I'm pretty sure scurvy isn't sexually transmitted." Emma said with a raised eyebrow.

Regina ignored her and sat down at the kitchen island wrapping her fingers around her own cup of coffee, "Besides you only bring my past with Hook up because you want some defense against your new found love for flying monkeys."

"There is the argument I came here for."

"I see. Is this the part where I play jealous ex?" Regina said sardonically.

"You don't share well." Emma replied.

"Granted. But the fact that you had a relationship during a year when you forgot who I was isn't exactly cheating. Given I don't remember the last year of my life that seems like too much hypocrisy unless my last name is Charming."

"I'm... not sure our last name is Charming you know."

"If the shoe fits."

"And isn't that Ashley's thing not ours too..."

"It's before eight in the morning and I can still set your head on fire." Regina sighed. "What do you want me to do Emma? Go all Evil Queen on you so that you can justify how much you want to take my son and run?"

Emma bit her lip, the thought of going back to New York with Henry had occurred to her multiple times the last few days. "The look on your face when you found out I was going to marry wasn't exactly happy."

"Should I throw a party because you proved you were your mother's daughter and were naive enough to date a flying monkey for how many months and not notice his fondness for bananas and throwing his own poo?"

"He did have really good aim." Emma said thoughtfully.

Regina sighed. "How am I supposed to feel, Emma? You almost married a monster. A literal monster. If you didn't feel something was off with him what is it that you see when you look into my eyes?"

Emma sat up and stared at Regina. "Wait... that's not..."

"When you love someone you feel it in your soul.

"Is this some Enchanted Forest thing...? Or another trip into the bizarre land of your self-loathing?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Did you love him?"

"I probably was going to say yes." Emma granted.

"Marrying someone and loving them are two very different things." Regina said quietly.

"Such the romantic you are." Emma replied thoughtlessly.

Regina raised an eyebrow, "I would know."

Emma immediately regretted what she'd said. "I didn't mean... I don't know. I was going to say yes. He was good with Henry and nice. I mostly felt empty. Like something was missing and I needed something to fill it."

"Your family was gone and you didn't know it."

"And so were you. Henry felt it too. Feels it. He just doesn't know." Emma wanted to reach out and take Regina's hand but when she did Regina pulled it out of reach.

"Please don't try to placate me. This is hard enough without your false reassurances."

"They're not false. I didn't know what we were missing. He still doesn't. But that doesn't mean we didn't miss you. In all your frustrating glory, Your Majesty."

Regina clinched her teeth. "I think it would have been better if I'd gone down the jealousy road. At least I'd have avoided the pity." She got up from where she was sitting to wash her mug. "We have to be at your parents in half an hour to plan a witch hunt."

"This conversation isn't over." Emma said firmly, recognizing though that Regina was shutting the door on it for the moment. "You aren't a monster."

"Or I am and you just have a very odd fetish Emma."

Emma inhaled, "I'm not sure I'm ready for the slew of flying monkey jabs. He... I let him near Henry. How could I not have seen? How could I not have known?"

Regina turned around and folded her arms, "Emma, your superpower isn't magic. It's ... it's a skill you learned because people tried to hurt you your entire life. But believe me when I tell you that we all need love. So badly that we'll see it when it's not there if we are desperate enough."

"Love is weakness?"

Regina shrugged, "A stopped clock is right twice a day. I just ... never really understood what that weakness really meant. Or that cutting out love wasn't the answer to it." Regina looked right at Emma. "You know the running away is another form of that right? Love is scary and so you push it away."

"I came here this morning."

"You came for a fight." Regina pointed out. "I'm sorry if I'm not going to oblige and give you an excuse to run away again. Now ... we should get over to your parent's. There is a witch to find and whatever she wants with us all here it can't be good."


End file.
